WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896 March 21, 2024
‘HO NO
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Volume 128 Issue 24
MO’
Cindy Smock, more commonly known on TikTok as Sister Cindy, speaks to students Tuesday afternoon about the Bible, Christianity and her conversion from a “ho” to a “modest woman.” Smock has amassed almost half a million followers on TikTok, where she posts videos of her visiting and preaching on college campuses across the country. | Photos by Allison Campbell / The Sunflower
Sister Cindy lies on the ground, demonstrating how a “ho” lies down for a man.
WSU students laugh as Sister Cindy references the lyrics of “One Margarita” by That Chick Angel and CasaDi Music.
Sister Cindy pins a “Ho No Mo” pin onto the shirt of WSU student Garett Knight. “I love the gays, but not the gay-way,” Cindy said.
Sister Cindy visits campus to share religious views, personal stories BY ALLISON CAMPBELL
C
news@thesunflower.com
indy Smock was a self-proclaimed “disco ho” — a woman searching for self-gratification by fulfilling her sexual desires in whatever way possible. As a journalism student at the University of Florida in the 1970s, Smock considered herself far from religious – until a young preacher made his way onto campus and changed her life. “I laughed and mocked, and he pointed me out of the crowd and said, ‘Repent of your sins, you wicked woman,’” Smock said. “Then I tried to seduce him … but when he wouldn’t, that opened my heart to the Lord Jesus.” Four and a half years later, Smock married the preacher, Brother Jed, and began traveling from campus to campus to spread their religious teachings. For the next 39 years, the duo condemned acts of “immorality,” premarital sex, and “feminazi” behavior, beginning what is now called the “Ho No Mo Revolution.” Smock, better known as Sister Cindy, rose to fame via TikTok in March 2021 after students began posting videos of her preachings at their universities. The social media sensation visited Wichita State for the second time
in her ministry from Tuesday to Thursday after receiving multiple requests from students and followers. “I became TikTok famous without ever having posted a video,” Sister Cindy said. “I think it’s the Lord that did it.” After seeing the outpour of support and scorn, Sister Cindy decided to make her own accounts to share where and when she would preach next. The evangelical preacher boasts more than 420,000 followers on TikTok, with an additional 30,000 followers on Instagram. Sister Cindy said that her large following allows her to amplify the word of God and the “Ho No Mo” message. Sister Cindy’s teachings on Tuesday centered on “good old fashioned slut shaming,” “the margarita message,” and warnings about “feminazis.” She scolded students for pursuing “master’s degrees in oral sex” and sodomy and emphasized women’s modesty in God’s teachings. She also referenced That Chick Angel’s “Margarita Song” and discouraged male students from taking Wichita State girls to Mexican restaurants because “she does not want a taco, or a burrito … she wants you to buy her a margarita.” Additionally, Sister Cindy criticized
‘Connection, vision and trust’ drive Powell, Grajeda’s student presidential campaign
BY TALIYAH WINN
assistantnews@thesunflower.com
Aiden Powell and Diana Grajeda are one of two tickets for student body president and vice president with a platform centered on connecting the different areas of Wichita State. Powell is a junior in organizational leadership at WSU. The presidential candidate is the director of student organizations in Student Government Association (SGA) and the president of the InterFraternity Council, which oversees all of the fraternities at WSU. He said these positions have given him the chance to meet and connect with various groups around campus. “I tend to have a strong relationship with organizations,” Powell said. “I was an organization president my sophomore
Photo courtesy of Powell and Grajeda
year, so having that experience has also really helped me a lot.” Grajeda is a sophomore studying health management along with sociology and leadership. She joined SGA as a senator during her freshman year and currently serves as the director of student leadership. In her role as director, she runs the Freshman Leadership Council, a group of freshmen introduced to organizational planning and networking within WSU. Grajeda said freshmen
and commuters are one of their campaign’s focuses. “Interacting with all these freshmen students, I’ve been able to ... hear what they like about what they like about Wichita State, what they don’t like, and what they’d like to see,” Grajeda said. Powell and Grajeda’s campaign points are connection, vision and trust. One of Grajeda’s goals to build trust is to create a more transparent relationship between the student body and SGA. “Not every student knows what SGA is, and not every student cares,” Grajeda said. “So hopefully (we) get more out there and let them know what we can do for them because we are by students for students.” SEE POWELL, GRAJEDA, PAGE 2
“feminazis,” whom she said want to do three things to men. “Number one, they want to titty whip you,” she said. “Number two, she wants to grab you by the balls and squeeze your manhood out. And number three, she wants to suck your blood.” Throughout her four-hour “sermon,” Sister Cindy handed out “Ho No Mo” buttons to students who interacted with her, then took selfies and signed autographs. “I have a wall in my apartment where I put cursed objects, and so I’m putting it (the button) up there,” student Rennie Jeffries said. Sister Kathy, who helps Sister Cindy with her social media and travels, joined Sister Cindy in 2022 after Brother Jed died. Sister Kathy said they travel to college campuses specifically because the students are questioning and more open than older audiences. She also said WSU students are more “decadent” than other crowds. “Usually (when) people hear my story, they’re kind of shocked by some of the behavior and some of the things that happened to me,” Sister Kathy said. “It’s almost like Wichita, they were cheering for the bad guy.” SEE CINDY, PAGE 2
Hower, Phan presidential campaign aims to increase outreach, retention through student connections BY COURTNEY BROWN newsprojects@thesunflower.com
Wichita State’s speaker of the student senate is one candidate for student body president, and her ticket is making personal connections a priority. Speaker Kylee Hower is running with Matthew Phan as her vice president. During the 2022-2023 school year, Hower was an underserved senator in the Student Government Association (SGA). Phan served on the Freshman Leadership Council and is currently an engineering senator. Hower said she is running for president to continue her work as speaker and to “uplift student voices.” “I’m very passionate about advocacy and civic engagement, obviously, and I feel like being president is a great way to accomplish that,” Hower said. Hower was elected speaker of
Photo courtesy of Hower and Phan
the senate in May 2023 after the position was vacated following sexual harassment allegations against the former speaker. Hower said, as president, she would try to instill a culture of accountability and create a “positive, safe environment.” “One of my biggest goals as speaker was to just make sure that the senators felt safe speaking on issues, felt safe in those spaces, and just kind of cultivating an inclusive environment in the senate,” Hower said. “Because without a diverse senate, you have a weak government.” SEE HOWER, PHAN, PAGE 2